What brands do you associate with?
Let me start by saying that to me, brands are vital parts of social history, both the ones that are long lasting and the ones that vanish. I love seeing old newspapers and old magazines that contain adverts for brands that have vanished and those that have stayed around. I am of course aware of the arguments around brands, some of which are valid. However, this post will ignore those arguments and, instead, serve as a preview of one of my Blogmas posts. So, let me take you back to 1896!
My idea of looking at Christmas Magazines through the last 130 years in the UK stemmed from the view of the Pears’ Annual of 1896. When you look at the title, you are immediately looking at brand awareness Victorian Style. Pears produced soap used at every level of UK society up to and including the royals. It was instantly recognisable in its packaging and through its advertising and publications. This was a commercial titan of the day and their magazine would have been a Christmas staple in houses the length and breadth of the country. Many of the articles, as you will find out in December were Pears puff pieces, but it also sold advertising space to other well-known brands of the time. The two below for example.
So you have Atora and Cadbury’s which are still available on the shelves of shops in the UK and beyond. Atora is focusing on the Christmas recipes for which suet is an integral part. It ties the brand in with the celebrations. Cadbury’s reflects the quality of the brand and the way that it is made in Birmingham at the Bourneville factory within the Cadbury designed village of the same name. It’s clearly meant to put the quality front and centre and position itself as a Christmas gift of distinction. When you think of the brand positioning now, not much has changed.
Just as fascinating to me are the brands that have vanished. In the picture above you can see 9 brands that were clearly well known enough to get a coveted place in a very widely read magazine and which no doubt benefitted from the exposure. None of them exist any more. Why is that? I don’t know, but I would really like to find out. Did they fall out of favour, get forced out by cheaper competitors or simply fade gradually from the scene? Whatever the reason, they disappeared never to return.
We have the mistaken belief that we live in a uniquely brand heavy world. The truth is that, ever since consumers started to look beyond their own villages and towns for products, brands have been a vital way for producers to differentiate themselves in an imperfect market. Looking back to 1896,there were almost certainly more brands then than now, but they advertised themselves in the printed media rather than on the Internet. As a result we tend to forget that consumer behaviour doesn’t change, it’s simply catered for in different ways.
If you enjoyed this article, there’s far more to come in December as I trace Christmas across the years through the pages of magazines.
What could you do more of?
Now that I am freer during the year than I used to be, I have looked at the experiences I want to have. I am not the type of person to reduce the importance of possessions in general but as I get older I want to have time and experiences with those I care about.
Last week I went to Stonehenge with my wife and son and we had the privilege of walking inside the stone circle itself. It was an amazing opportunity and an experience that went beyond the everyday. To have the experience is about double the cost of normal entry and may require you to get up very early – our slot was 6.30am – but if you can do it you really should.
The stones themselves up close have a real energy that comes from their great age and their role in the lives of our ancestors. They are covered in lichen, some are standing, some have fallen, some have disappeared, but every single one of them has a story and a power. The true story is lost in the depths of pre-history, although we can be fairly sure that Stonehenge was a calendar and a site of worship. Did they worship gods or nature or the vastness of space? We can never truly know, but as our fantastic guide James told us, we can make educated guesses based on ever more advanced archaeological techniques.
Stonehenge was almost certainly a cathedral of the Stone Age and probably had a very similar purpose. Were there druids? We don’t really know if there were, certainly not in the way modern day acolytes portray them. For a start, the robes are so similar to the clothes of Christian priests that they are clearly influenced by them retrospectively. What did they do? We don’t really know that either, but it’s fascinating to consider the possibilities. I felt the same way in the circle as I have done in the great cathedrals I have visited, only more so as the energy seemed to be an integral part of the site and was all around you.
Going to Stonehenge is an experience but being within the stone circle was a privilege and one that will guide my search for experience over possession from now on. That is where the real pleasure of life lies and where I want to focus my energies from now on.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Music is full of great advice to smooth your path through life. Take Kenny Rogers in The Gambler
You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold’ em, know when to walk away, know when to run’
That’s pretty solid advice for any area of life, not just playing cards for money.
Meatloaf had some great advice that always made me laugh in the Jim Steinmann song Rock and Roll Dreams Come Through when he pointed out
You can’t run away for ever, but there’s nothing wrong in getting a good head start.
That could work in a variety of situations.
However, there is one song that is packed with brilliant advice. Sunscreen by Baz Luhrmann is simply brilliant and it is a song I always go back to. Where I have had the chance I have introduced it to my students at all levels and at most of my workplaces.
Where do I start with this brilliant song? Every line is great advice and the older I get, the more I realise how true every word is. These words come from a speech written by Mary Schmich called ‘Advice like youth, probably just wasted on the young’! Originally written in 1997 it was taken to the top of the UK charts in 1999. So, here are my ten favourite pieces of advice from this great piece of reflective writing.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. (Even as someone who never had power or beauty, I can still see that they have faded!)
Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. (I am getting better at this but it’s taken over 5 decades!)
Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. (This is so true but society will not acknowledge it.)
Remember the compliments you receive; forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. (Great advice but impossible to follow as my brain will only see insults as truthful, whereas compliments are flannel as my Dad would have said!)
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t. (I fell into my career, but I’m glad I did. At 60 I don’t know what I want to do next, but I know I want to find out.)
Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance; so are everybody else’s. (It’s like the people who ‘hit a century’ or ‘hit a home run’ (delete as appropriate to your sporting background) and refuse to acknowledge that their parents or their private school hit the first 80 runs or started them off at third base!)
Do not read beauty magazines; they will only make you feel ugly (Possibly updating it to do not follow influencers on Social Media!)
Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you
Should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. (I included that because it’s the one piece of advice I tried to follow but couldn’t. Very few of my friends from when I was young had any interest in staying in touch. When I realised that this was the case, things got easier.)
Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old– and when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. (I don’t need to fantasize. This is absolutely true. The world has never had worse people in power around the globe.)
Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. (I have always tried to follow this because I hope people will be patient with me.)
What things give you energy?
This is actually quite a difficult question these days as people seem to focus on what saps their energy, and I am very adept at doing that.
So, the first thing that gives me energy is novelty. When I have something new to focus on it gives me a lift. When I was teaching full time I got energy from lessons that required me to do something different. When I was teaching art and design students this summer, something I hadn’t done for about 15 years, I had a fantastic time and my energy levels in the nine weeks were way above those I had for my previous job which had ended only a month earlier.
The second factor comes from the opportunity to learn something. It can be learning in any context, whether it be something academic like Popular Culture or practical like gardening or working around the house. That always energises me.
The third factor is the support of my family. When I have that I can raise enthusiasm for anything. Without my wife I wouldn’t have tried many of the things that have filled my life with energy. I continue to do so to this day thanks to her inspiration.
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 